A/N: Hey everyone! I'm hoping you're still with me while I sort my life out and get these chapters as done as soon as I have time. This one is a little on the lighter side, compared to the previous one. Let me know what you think, if you get the chance!
Chapter 17: Family Life
Edythe was growing quickly tired of the constant vigilance her family was enacting over her. She found she wasn't able to travel much more than a few steps without vampiric eyes boring into her back, as if anticipating some kind of mental or physiological breakdown.
The Cullens had gone after Edric, trying to locate him and probe more information about Edythe from him, but found he was just as elusive as before; Archie could barely see him and never in anywhere concrete enough to pinpoint. Plagued by the unknown of Edric's comments, the vampires had been waiting for something to happen to give proliferation to the words.
But there was nothing; Carine had re-done Edythe's physical, much to her daughter's complaints, to find nothing amiss; her bloodwork was unremarkable, though Edythe was found to have a moderate allergy to fresh berries and nuts. The following week, they had proven that fact when Eleanor had accidentally given Edythe a granola bar with both berries and almonds; she was inconsolably remorseful when, not ten minutes after taking a bite, Edythe had come down with a headache and had broken out in hives. Carine had been to calm Eleanor down once the hives were taken care of easily with calamine lotion and a single tablet. Edythe hardly blamed Eleanor, and she told her sister as much, but they were all very careful to double check and triple check all ingredients before making Edythe and Beau meals.
The vampires eased into the mood of a more humanized existence fairly well; they were able to be quiet enough during the night to allow Edythe to sleep, though Eleanor and Archie enjoyed waking her up in the morning, as unwilling to function before 9am as their newly human sister was. Earnest came to her rescue on multiple occasions, times where Edythe longed for her vampiric strength back for just a moment to retaliate on their antics. The Cullens had taken turns cooking for Edythe, which she found equally touching and amusing, for their faces were always on the verge of twisting in disgust, even though they tolerated it for her.
Edythe herself felt little change; though hardly completely in tune with her body, she did not feel unhealthy or on the verge of death the way her family made her out to be. Despite her initial breakdown the day Edric had come, she found herself keeping a stronger front than the rest of them; she was confident that the worst of her transformation transition was over. Edric himself had said no one had survived as long as she had, so it may have been a coincidence, an environmental factor, or merely a genetic glitch, that allowed her to progress so far with minimal issue. She didn't know or care the reason, as she said to her family. Though internally, the doubt was still there; Archie, and possibly Jessamine, were probably aware of it, but they didn't reveal anything, though they all stayed vigilant during all hours of the day, even when they were hiding it.
The only one who hadn't changed as a result of Edythe's return was Royal; Edythe had hardly seen her blonde-haired brother since arriving home, and she didn't know if she preferred it that way or not. She had a very good idea what he may be going through as a result of this new development, and she couldn't help the recurring pang of guilt, for taking and having what he wanted so badly. For having a future none of them dreamed they could have. She knew if the roles were reversed, she would feel similarly, and so, she did not try to confront him or draw attention to his absence. If that's what Royal needed to deal with this situation, she would leave him be.
The family fell into step with their regular routine, slightly altered to accommodate Edythe's humanity. Nights were often spent in the living room together, talking and playing games while Edythe and Beau ate. Beau stayed almost every day at the Cullens, much as he had before Edythe's transformation. Eleanor countlessly tried to convince Edythe to play games with her, insisting it was more fair now that Edythe couldn't "cheat" with her mind reading, but Edythe countered that Eleanor's enhanced reflexes and thought processes swung the disproportionality in the other direction.
The biggest aspect that stood out as off was the piano. Edythe had not touched it since arriving home, despite Earnest's not so subtle attempts at encouragement. She had smiled or waved it off or conjured up a distraction, to avoid the subject. Carine, Earnest, and Beau feared it was her emotions and mood being low that kept her from playing but she assured them that wasn't it. In truth that she would not let on to anyone but herself, she did not want to get in front of the keys and then be unable to play as she used to. The possibility haunted her and kept her eyes studiously away from the pristine white instrument displayed in the main room of the house.
Presently, Edythe was stretched out on her bed, Beau lounging besides her as they moved through the music list they were listening to; Edythe's room renovation had included an update to move all her music to a separate music player. Archie had taken the liberty to bring Edythe "into the twenty-first century," as he put it, and even organized all the songs by date in separate playlists for her. She appreciated the gesture and found herself adapting to the new technology she had preferred to refrain from. The extra space in her room allowed for a large armoire that she had not possessed previously; she had never pictured how many extra clothes she would need when moving from vampire to human.
Edythe's head lay on Beau's stomach, both of them lounging across her bed as they listened to the soft jazz number playing in the background. Both humans were on the verge of dozing when the door was unceremoniously banged open and Eleanor, Archie, and Jessamine moved into the room. After the usual initial shock from the unexpected sound, Edythe and Beau relaxed, Edythe returning her eyes to the ceiling as a way to ignore her siblings.
"That's one way to do it, I guess," she mused, "Not very vampiric, though."
"Hey, you always say we're too quiet for you now," Eleanor countered, "You can't be appeased." Edythe smirked, not looking away from the ceiling.
"I didn't imply in a way to make you think you should go around the house throwing doors around. Earnest will be upset if you break anything," she replied as she sat up, her legs curling underneath her as she faced her siblings, Eleanor staying besides her bed, Archie and Jess leaning in from the hallway.
"There's going to be a storm tonight," Jessamine said casually. "And we're going out to play in half an hour, once Carine returns from work." Edythe raised an eyebrow.
"You realize I'm not exactly able to play anymore, correct?" she asked slowly. Archie rolled his eyes.
"Of course," he said, "But we need an umpire. You can call the shots fairly now that you can't cheat your team into winning. And you can keep Beau company, I guess."
"Well thank you so much for your generosity," Beau said halfheartedly, who had still lay on his back besides Edythe; she reached out to brush a lock of hair from his forehead before turning to her brother with a playful retort. Archie mouthed a silent reply, knowing Earnest was listening. Edythe giggled, nonplussed by the jab.
"How are we getting there?" she asked then, realizing she could hardly run to the clearing as before. Archie smirked now.
"El and I will be giving you guys a ride," he said simply. Edythe nodded before reaching out with her foot to push the door closed. Her siblings were gone before the door had shut; she flopped backwards on the bed, turning on her side to cuddle into Beau's arm; his forearm tightened over her automatically. They remained like that for a few minutes longer before sighing and moving to dress appropriately. Edythe donned a pair of comfy jeans and a hunter green hoodie; she had since acquired many sweatshirts to keep around the house to have in case she got cold. She would rather wear more clothing than refuse any proximity with her family; the Cullens were accommodating, insisting she didn't need to do that but she didn't relent, and they soon found comfort in that they did not have to fear their touch making her uncomfortable.
Thankfully, in the weeks that had transpired, her old irreconcilable reactions to her family had dissipated; first, the response was dulled, getting less and less severe until there was no reaction at all. The nightmares had coincided with these reactions; after a couple of anxious nights after Edric's visit, Edythe had settled and was able to sleep through the night without issue, something she was very thankful for.
But the resulting fatigue her body seemed to be trying to catch up on made the mornings full of reluctant acts of moving from the land of her warm bed to the conscious realm, though the time had become Earnest and Carine's favorite to spend with her. Unlike her brother and sisters, her parents often liked to wake her gently, coaxing her into consciousness and then waking her fully with morning conversations and often breakfast. Edythe knew she was being spoiled, and she shouldn't be allowing Carine and Earnest to do so, but she couldn't bring herself to ask them to stop, for how much they seemed to like it, just as much as she did.
Edythe and Beau moved toward the main floor after they were ready, finding the everyone gone except Archie and Eleanor. As Eleanor bounced to Beau's side, punching him lightly in the arm as Beau's face started to burn scarlet from embarrassment, knowing what he was going to have to do to get to the cleaning, Archie stepped to Edythe. She watched, bemused, as he turned to offer her his back. She moved forward, pausing to jump. He caught her easily, his arms locking behind her knees to hold her piggyback style. She wasn't given the chance to look back to Beau before Archie was moving.
It only took a few minutes to get to the clearing from the house and Archie and Eleanor stopped just on the fringe, allowing the humans to dismount them. Beau, used to this mode of transportation with the Cullens—though not with Eleanor particularly— stepped away relatively easy. He had long ago gotten over the motion sickness and lack of balance between vampire running and the ground. He glanced over at Edythe and did a double take.
Archie had set her down but had not released her, turning to hold Edythe's upper arms securely as he eased her to the ground. Her legs were weak, her eyes wide, and her face was paler than usual, no doubt taken by surprise by the experience. Beau knew the feeling, and stepped over to crouch down besides her.
"Holy crap," Edythe murmured, unable to say anything else.
"Look down and breathe deeply," Beau instructed quietly. Archie looked concerned, not by any premoniton, but by the idea that such an experience could trigger something, the exact something they were trying to avoid. He had not thought of the possibility and, as such, no such vision of the result had come upon him. But, as he checked, he relaxed, seeing Edythe being perfectly fine in a few minutes. Edythe obeyed Beau's words, her head dropping, hoping for the dizziness to fade. Beau rubbed between her shoulders lightly for a minute before she spoke.
"Is this what it felt like?" she asked. Beau knew what she was talking about.
"Yes," he told her, feeling a little discontent for her discomfort, but also a little appeased she now understood what he had felt that day leaving the meadow. Edythe felt another pang of guilt at having forced Beau to feel this uneasy. Even with her being aware of what was going to happen, Edythe felt she might throw up her spleen, or something else, with the way her insides were sloshing around inside. In fact, it was probably much worse given how much faster she had been compared to the others. She shook her head, slightly, hoping for it clear.
"I am so sorry I put you through that," she said earnestly. Beau laughed lightly.
"Close your eyes next time. You'll get used to it," he responded and then laughed at the deja vu. Archie joined in, of course knowing where the joke lay, and Edythe smiled halfheartedly. After another minute, Edythe moved to stand, taking Beau's offered hands to pull her up. She brushed the leaves and bracken off her jeans before taking Beau's hand again to follow her siblings through the fringe into the clearing.
They had been here multiple times all spring and summer, so the location itself held no enmity from the first experience Beau had had here. He moved automatically to the large boulder to the right and back of the Cullen's makeshift home plate, watching as Earnest was finishing marking bases and Eleanor was already swinging around one of the bats. Edythe followed him, intercepted only by Carine's concerned hand on her face, silently asking if she was alright. Edythe nodded with an earnest smile, which seemed to be appease the matriarch.
Beau pulled Edythe up besides him on the top of the rock which overlooked the entire field, lounging back on his hands behind him. Edythe leaned into his side as the game began, her eyes trained on the field, ready to call the game. She found, despite her lack of supernatural reflexes, she was able to follow the game well enough to make calls, and settled into the pattern easily. Eleanor and Jessamine of coursed argued the shots, trying to use Edythe's human reflexes as a valid reason, but Earnest, the precursory umpire, defended her calls as sound.
Edythe joked and laughed and played with her family, throwing out cheers and comments as the night wore on. She found her mood flying, completely content, as if her life had always been like this, as if it was always this effortless. There was no fear of nomads this time, nor evidence of any supposed physiological collapses. The Cullens, all eight of them, could enjoy the evening for what it was, without the doom looming over their head.
There were always things to worry about, of course, but there was just as much to be happy about, enough to place the worrisome things to the wayside, at least for a little while.
A/N: So I know this is a shorter chapter, but it was meant to be a transition/fluffy chapter to move the story along a bit. Please let me know if there is anything specific you would like me to write about; if not, the next step for Edythe and Beau and the Cullens: high school. This should be interesting haha. As always, thanks for much for reading and I hope to get the next one out soon!